Sovereign of Judgment

Episode 6: Mafia Game / Chapter 101: Someone (1)

TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk

“…What did it do?”

Choi Hyuk tilted his head in the fourth dimension, which was now permeating with light.

Like how Choi Hyuk had seen through the monster of night’s core, it too had thoroughly seen through him. It seemed it had used its ‘seeing’ ability to look into Choi Hyuk’s past as well. It must have seen his mother during that. Although it was unpleasant to the extreme, there was nothing he could do about it. It was a high ranked monster. Going purely by rank, it ranked higher than Choi Hyuk. Choi Hyuk had no way of finding its core without giving it his past. It was a tactic of ‘giving up one’s flesh to strike their bones’. That was how he eventually came out victorious.

However, Choi Hyuk frowned.

He clearly recalled its last words, ‘I saw it. I saw it. I saaaw it!’ followed by its karma moving.

“It definitely did something…”

It had been difficult to find the core though.

The reason why Choi Hyuk was able to beat it was because he had paid sharp attention to finding its core from start to finish. On the other hand, the monster of night had been careless enough to read and learn of Choi Hyuk’s past, finding his weakness, his mother, and rejoice. Additionally, it had even occasionally paid attention to the fight between the doppelgangers and humans outside. This was how he had been able to win.

That was all. Choi Hyuk had only found its core by using its carelessness. He had no way of knowing what sort of trick it pulled at the last moment.

Choi Hyuk shook his head.

**

“How futile.”

Ryu Hyunsung lamented as he buried a corpse.

Although it had been a long time since human lives had become as worthless as flies, Ryu Hyunsung was still not used to death.

He brushed the dirt off him and looked at his hand. As a national athlete, he had wielded the saber with this hand countless times. His hand, which had been covered in calluses, was now soft and smooth due to karma.

He had personally killed people with this hand that looked like it had never met any hardship. Countless of them.

Was it nonetheless or because of it? He hadn’t become used to death, and it gradually felt heavier. These people had been chatting and laughing just this morning, yet, now they were gone. If there was such a thing as fate, then when were their deaths decided?

Tap.

Someone placed their hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, it was Guardian Bae Jinman. Although his complexion seemed healthy due to karma, his white hair was still that of an old professor’s.

“Guardian.”

Ryu Hyunsung greeted in the glum voice of a guilty middle schooler but bowed in the awkward manner of someone who didn’t want to reveal their gloominess. Bae Jinman nodded his head and turned his gaze away from Ryu Hyunsung. His eyes took in the scene of the buried corpses, comrades holding their tears back, and the colonizers who plainly seemed to find all of this a bother. Although Ryu Hyunsung, who was immersed in his sadness, wasn’t aware of the colonizers who didn’t seem to care for their fallen comrades, Bae Jinman could see it all.

‘Human lives were more precious than anything.’ This common notion was an illusion that had only been created in recent times. In fact, many people were shockingly apathetic to the deaths of those unrelated to them. What if they saw someone die right in front of their eyes? It wouldn’t affect them as much as one would expect. The moment it was meaningful was either when the person who died in front of them was someone precious to them or if they felt that they would be next.

However, when looking around at those who found this bothersome, there were many colonizers who were even beyond that stage. ‘I want to live.’ ‘I can live.’ They had already lost this hope. Perhaps they were even of the mind ‘Since we’re going to die anyways, we should be enjoying every moment before we die. What a waste of time.’

Bae Jinman turned his back on Ryu Hyunsung and asked,

“Director Ryu Hyunsung. Do you know why I pledged myself to Overseer Choi Hyuk?”

Ryu Hyunsung’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.

“No… You didn’t tell me when I was curious.”

Ryu Hyunsung and Bae Jinman had both been leading their own forces before joining Choi Hyuk for the first colonization. Afterwards, they had decided to become Choi Hyuk’s followers and had been working together since then.

It was a question Ryu Hyunsung had always been curious of because Choi Hyuk, who slaughtered lives, didn’t seem to match Bae Jinman, who considered life as something precious. Even if he could accept the fact that Bae Jinman had joined the first colonization because it was a critical moment for humanity, he thought that there was no reason for him to stay by his side as a follower. There was no way Bae Jinman wanted crumbs from the colonized lands either.

“Cancer… I thought of it as cancer treatment.”

“Cancer?”

“At Kangdong District, I had already thought the world had fallen. However, when we killed the Wyvern of Destruction and came out, what was this? That wasn’t the case. Although the world was collapsing, people didn’t know it. Even until recently.”

It was probably after two-fifths of the non-awakenees had ceased to exist during the advancement evaluation when the entire world was undoubtedly aware. Before then, there were still many who lived without this sense of reality.

“There’s a saying ‘true crisis is when you aren’t aware there is a crisis’. It was exactly that. It was like seeing patients who refused examinations, let alone surgery, while their insides were rotting with cancer. That was why I joined Overseer Choi Hyuk. Although he was more extreme than the others, I believed it was precisely because he was so extreme that he could make the world aware.”

Ryu Hyunsung slowly nodded his head. Many people in the world would often say Choi Hyuk and the Berserkers were ‘crazy’, but in Ryu Hyunsung’s perspective, the world was already crazy. In a universe where entities from the alliance and monsters were fighting each other, earthlings couldn’t continue to live the way they had when they simply lived harmoniously with each other.

“However, this choice was also giving up ‘myself’.”

Ryu Hyunsung looked at Bae Jinman with slightly surprised eyes. Bae Jinman had a bitter expression. Ryu Hyunsung had never seen him look so vulnerable before. He had always taken the lead and focused on treating the wounded. However, Bae Jinman was currently shaking his head, saying it was not so.

“I had the realization that the dream I had my entire life, everything I believed that was ‘me’, and everything I loved and found precious had been crushed. Once the game began in Kangdong District… The moment patients and doctors began to kill each other, the moment I was no longer able to see my family, my world had already died. No, I had already died. What that means is…”

Bae Jinman, who had been looking off into the distance, turned his gaze and looked directly at Ryu Hyunsung. His voice was trembling with rage, sadness, and eventually, resignation.

“There is nothing more I hope for in this life. There’s nothing that makes me angry, sad, or regretful, since, for me, everything has ended. Perhaps, I have already died, and this is some sort of bonus game. That is why I can partake in Overseer Choi Hyuk’s actions, whom I would have never cooperated with in the past. If it was the past, no matter how beneficial his actions were to humanity, I would first be haunted by those he killed. But that isn’t the case now since this life has already ended for me. Only… Since I still have time left, I am only doing what I can do to make the next generation a generation where humanity can hope again. I don’t reflect on my actions or differentiate between this and that. I don’t have the power to do so anymore. When I think that this is truly my life, I find my ruined life unfair and am unable to endure the longing of wanting to see those I can no longer see. However, when I think of it as an extra life, a bonus game, it’s not that bad. Everything has already ended. The world has collapsed, and if it ever comes to the point of regeneration, that is not our responsibility. And if it’s Overseer Choi Hyuk, even if he can’t save us, he will one day end this ruin… That is what I think.”

Ryu Hyunsung could somehow understand Bae Jinman’s jumbled words. He also knew why he was telling him this when he had never said it before.

That was why he said,

“Thank you.”

Bae Jinman had comforted Ryu Hyunsung in his own way. Perhaps he knew that Ryu Hyunsung had never had a day in the past 3 years where he didn’t lose sleep due to nightmares, which was why he had told him his own ‘coping method’.

Ryu Hyunsung had an especially good memory. He first remembered all his dead friends. He thought that, by not forgetting them, he was respecting them. That was why every day felt heavier.

Bae Jinman was telling him to let go. However, he shook his head.

“Still, I can’t forget them yet.”

This was his inevitable nature. He couldn’t forget those who died first. He couldn’t stop his affection for them. That was why he was scared.

“I am scared. Although I can still raise my sword… I’m scared I won’t be able to lift my sword due to my pressing depression… Still, there’s nothing I can do.”

Ryu Hyunsung forced a smile as he said this. Bae Jinman patted his shoulder twice before leaving.

**

The battle had ended, leaving everyone with their own wounds.

Once the monster of night had been slain, the monsters on the Cayenne star fell into a state of chaos. It was then when the mission became as Tangka of the Armored Soul Tribe had said, an ‘easy’ mission. They were able to conquer the Cayenne star with no particular losses.

Instead, what was more exhausting than the actual battle was the negotiation process with the alliance.

The alliance’s attitude was clear.

{There was nothing wrong with the operation order.}

“What are you saying? In a region expected only to have moderate battles, high ranked monsters, doppelgangers and a monster of night appeared!”

At Camilla’s retaliation, the artificial intelligence tasked with inspecting this mission repeated its rigid message.

{Reconnaissance cannot be completely precise. As monsters do their best to trick us, this sort of error is a common occurrence.}

“… Then how do you explain the doppelganger identification device that the alliance sent? Didn’t you withhold information even though you knew of the possibility of doppelgangers appearing ahead of time? Even though we know that it is grounds for violation of the alliance law?”

{Doppelgangers are considered as a rank 1 species for caution by the alliance. As we never know when or where they will appear, it is only normal to randomly send it as an exploration device to new unexplored regions. It is difficult to determine that they were aware of the possibility of doppelgangers ahead of time with this.}

“… Then why didn’t you tell us it was a doppelganger identification device?”

This time, it was the Ethiopian Sovereign Yohan who asked.

{As there is always a risk of doppelgangers, it is common to give low ranked troops an identification device, however, it is a fact that the actual frequency of doppelganger appearances is low. As there have been cases of setbacks due to the first-line troops becoming excessively intimidated by this rare possibility, relevant information may be hidden depending on the commander’s judgment.}

“…”

The overseers had nothing to say at the artificial intelligence’s words.

It was their first mission after being commissioned. The mission they said would be easy was a mission that could have resulted in their annihilation with the slightest fault. Lingering bitter feelings remained in the hearts of the warriors who had to kill their own comrades with their own hands. However, it said no one was responsible for this tragedy.

It was… simply a slip-up.

What did it matter if they had mouths, they could only stay silent as they were powerless.

The one who took action was Commander Mack.

“Well. Good. Theoretically, you are right. In fact, since you’re an artificial intelligence inspector, that can’t awaken karma, of course, you will reply according to the rules. But… You just said ‘Depending on the commander’s judgment’, right? Their commander is me, Mack. Yet the doppelganger identification device wasn’t reported to me either. The higher ups ignored the chain of command and made my subordinate Tangka deliver the device. Isn’t that a problem?”

While looking back at the silent overseers of Earth, Mack criticized in an orderly fashion.

{They made the explanation that, due to the urgent situation, they did not follow the chain of command and personally made the order. However, if you are not convinced by the above explanation, then you can request an additional explanation from the Laniakea Supercluster or Commander Mack can personally take legal action.}

“Yeah. It should be like this. After a long time, it looks like there will finally be a big scene at Dark City.”

Commander Mack gave a satisfied smile at the artificial intelligence’s reply.

After the artificial intelligence inspector had left, Commander Mack turned around to look at the overseers of Earth. She looked terribly sorry.

“Sorry. There probably won’t be an apology issued by the alliance or any compensation from this issue… The higher ups never admit their mistakes.”

“Haa…”

At her words, the overseers let out a sigh. How could they not know? They were all well-known figures on Earth. They knew the characteristics of those in power better than anyone. They wouldn’t apologize… Only… They were simply dejected that this characteristic was unchanged even in space.

“But! I’ll take responsibility for the victory reward and get you a lot. That’s the best in the end. Even if it’s unfair… no, the more unfair it is, you more have no choice but to get Mission Points and become stronger and more respected. Only then, can you go up.”

Silence hung in the air again.

A cold-hearted logic. Facing this logic, the overseers might have recalled their followers who had died due to this incident. It was the cruel balance between life and vested interests.

Within this silence, Choi Hyuk shot his hand up.

“Yeah, speak.”

When he received permission to speak, Choi Hyuk said,

“I killed the monster of night by myself.”

Then, feeling embarrassed, requested,

“Please let them know.”

‘No choice but to go up.’ There was no one who agreed with this more than Choi Hyuk.

Commander Mack grinned at Choi Hyuk’s words.

“Okay.”

Just as she said that, Richard quickly said,

“I planned the operation of dragging out the monster of night!”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”

Mack nodded her head, saying she understood, and left.

“…”

Dumbfounded, the five other overseers stared at Choi Hyuk and Richard.

“… Dis-disgusting…”

The Queen of England Diana mumbled in a quiet voice everyone could hear.

{ED/N: I’m curious, what do you guys think the ‘I saw it!’ referred to?}